My first non-workshop-related project has been completed and and delivered. I finished the last few rows of the Danish cord bench yesterday and Susanna and I dropped it off at her sister’s house. It isn’t perfect, but I’m happy how it turned out (for a first attempt at weaving).
Getting the weave even and correct is a challenge. I think the trick is to go slow (which I did, but could have done a little better keeping the warp and weave straight as I went along) and make sure the tension on each strand is the same (which I don’t think I did very well). It was a fun project to complete, even if it took a while to get done.
I started the project thinking I was going to do all the work by hand, but quickly decided that wasn’t the path I wanted. I quickly turned to the existing table saw to rip the boards and decided I wanted a planer to thickness the boards. Getting the planer I wanted in stock took a few weeks. I did the first mortise by hand, then decided to get the CNC running and use that. Setting up the CNC and getting it all working accurately took a few days. I thought I could do the weaving in a single day, but it was my first time trying to weave cord, so it took a while longer than I had planned. I had to keep going back to the class video and watch the next step.
My big lesson learned from the project is that I need to build a better finishing table/cabinet. I inherited a dining room table with the shop space that I used, but it isn’t perfectly flat. I did the bench glue-up using the table as a flat surface, but then found a little wobble in the table when I put it on a flat surface. I also realized the tablesaw needed a new blade, but I already wrote about that adventure. I may also upgrade the CNC spindle to a small router. That would make things like mortises a lot faster.
So what is next? I think I have a little less than half of the cord left, probably not enough for another bench, but maybe a few bar/workshop stool tops. I’ll put that in my project queue. I’ll take today and tomorrow to try to build a chisel rack and organize the shop a bit. I already have a list that should keep me busy enough for the next few months:
- Build a loft bed for Izzy. This will be bolted together, so should be a pretty quick project. But I always say that before I jump into a project, so who knows how hard it will really be. I plan on measuring and designing the bed today or tomorrow and picking up lumber for the project next week.
- Build a TV stand/entertainment center (Tv-bänk in Swedish). Our current one is terrible. I want to try veneering, so this will be a bit more complicated to finish. But I’ll make it from plywood, so that should help speed things along.
- Coffee table. Ours is functional, but we could use a nicer one.
I have a few non-furniture projects to work on as well:
- A chicken coop for the preschool Susanna works at. They are hiring me to do small projects around several of the schools, so this will be done as a pretty high priority once I get the go ahead on the project. Need to pay for the workshop!
- A decorative (and movable) fence for our patio so we can hang out there with Hoagie.
- Build a new outhouse by the lake cabin.
And then there are workshop projects:
- Storage rack for my chisels (they are all just sitting in the tool tray on my workbench for now)
- New finishing table/cabinet
- Finish the drawers under the laser engraver
- Bar stool/bench
